How hard are you willing to work, to learn....

[DarkSkies]

"A true bass fisherman it depends on time of year,fall is usually a first light thing where summer is a night thing.

The rest of the year you adapt to their schedule,which is sometimes predicated on weather.

In plain English to be successful you fish on their feeding schedule day or night.. Back in the day we fished at night to keep things a secret, when fluke season ended the day crew packed it in and we had the fall to our selves."



How many years did it take this guy above to learn the subtle differences?
About 50.

Maybe it only took him 5 or 10, and the rest of the years all he learned was how to be Grouchy!
But you can see from reading a post like this that the guy who wrote it put in his time to learn, without a doubt.

And some people want to learn it, or think they will learn it, all in a year, or 6 months.

I don't get that.

[DarkSkies]

I didn't fish the surf back at that time, or I did, but only to throw some clams from a pole when I was a kid and went to my Uncle's house. We were happy to catch just one small bass on the clam pole. We really didn't know that there were 40 and 50lb bass that came to visit in the surf at certain times.

Back 20 or 30 years ago, if you wanted to catch a bass, you had to go out and learn how, through trial and error. If you had a friend who fished, it would be easier.

People didn't share info freely. If you went out and fished a few nights a week, guys might START to acknowledge your presence after they saw you a few dozen times out there.

At that point, you might get a tip or 2 from the sharpies, if they saw you were eager, and willing to put in long hours. It wasn't a requirement that they help you, though. You had to earn their respect.

I don't mean to color or glamorize how things were. It is what it is. IMO we have it a lot easier today with all the tips and helpful articles on the internet. Many books have been written about surf fishing, and reading the water (at the top of the list of things to learn).

Guys who are just starting out surf fishin now are extremely lucky to have all these resources at their disposal. Yet some people still want to be spoon fed. They don't want to work too hard, yet they want the rewards.

Why is that?
Don't people realize how lucky we are to have all this communication and reading material at our disposal?

Maybe not....

[jigfreak]

You're rignt, too many want everything handed to them.The latest generation of kids are so spoiled and self-centered they think their parents should follow them around and hold the toilet paper whenever it's time to wipe!
I learned the hard way, first getting skunked in the day, and catching small bluefish. I realized I would catch bigger fish, and more bass at night. I also learned to recognize what was good about an area by looking at all the structure at extreme low tides. When you do that you see that only 25% of an area will really hold fish as the water moves in and out. If you can do that consistently you will catch fish regularly. That does take some extra time, and unfortunately a lot of folks don't want to put that time in.

[CharlieTuna]

I think for me it was a gradual learning process.
It is easy to catch small bass. You can always toss out a rod with a clam on it. This will keep you from getting skunked on a lot of trips, and guys may use this as a crutch. I know I did.
Then you see that guys are getting bigger bass by matching the hatch with artificials. When there are big bunker, they will throw a pencil popper which mimics the splashing behavior.
When the bait is peanut bunker or mullert you learn that you can throw a swimmer that has that profile. If you figure it out right, you start getting larger fish.
There is nothing like the thrill of catching a 30lb bass in the middle of the night, on a plug that so closely resembles what they are eating that they inhale it and almost pull the rod out of your hands.
As I said, it took me a while to get to that stage, and I used bait as a security blanket. I still do when it's cold, or there is a certain condition to the water that makes throwing that bait worthwhile
ie. eels in cold water.
I was helped along the way by the old salts or sharpies you mentioned. They saw me trying, and threw out a tidbit of advice at a time. I did struggle for awhile to get bigger fish.
I learned that you need to pay attention to tide stage, read the water, and mark that structure.
I learned that if a guy fishes an area and thinks it's dead, it's possible he could be fishing the wrong time.
All that comes together, but as you said, you need to put in your time to see it for yourself. Good thread, dark.

[fishinmission78]

I also learned to recognize what was good about an area by looking at all the structure at extreme low tides. When you do that you see that only 25% of an area will really hold fish as the water moves in and out. If you can do that consistently you will catch fish regularly. That does take some extra time, and unfortunately a lot of folks don't want to put that time in.

Right on. It took me about 2 years to learn how to read the water at all stages of the tide. Put your time in for sure, or don't complain when you don't catch.

[surfstix1963]

Paying your dues is putting your time in thats the bottom line.This is how to learn the game, fish day and night get used to the differences if you are serious especially at night it is a whole different world at night you need to know what your lures are doing by feel,during the day take the time to walk the areas you fish to find structure take a pole w/you you never know practice casting different lures and try and perfect them.Learn to read the beach because it changes all the time you won't walk too many days in a row with the structure not changing you need to adapt to what the beach is doing because thats what the fish need to do to eat.How much effort is related to how serious you want it just like anything else in life the more effort put in the better you should get at it.How much is too much that didn't exist when I started surf fishing probably cost me my first marriage amongst other things I fished every chance I could and heres a tip for you newbies weather you want to hear it or not you can learn more from an old timer in 10 minutes then you can fishing by yourself for a month the key is to listen.Just a quick example there use to be a guy Leo probably in his 80's sat in his chair and watched and waited for the fish to come into reach for him if it didn't happen oh well but one day I knew the fish were there but just out of reach as I was talking to Leo he said go get the fish I said I can't reach them his reply was take those damn treble hooks off the popper and you will reach them to make a long story short he was right on the money the drag from one treble hook was stopping that little bit of distance I needed. Experience is the best teacher.Moving around I will not stay in one spot regardless of tide if the fish are not there I will walk and cast along the beach until I find them fishing structure along the way you can feel the humps under your feet as you walk(points) or they just plain aren't there.Getting skunked thats part of the game get used to it.Sorry so long but if it bores you, your a surfcaster & you already know this.

[DarkSkies]

Paying your dues is putting your time in thats the bottom line.
This is how to learn the game, fish day and night get used to the differences if you are serious especially at night it is a whole different world at night you need to know what your lures are doing by feel, during the day take the time to walk the areas you fish to find structure take a pole w/you you never know practice casting different lures and try and perfect them.
Learn to read the beach because it changes all the time you won't walk too many days in a row with the structure not changing you need to adapt to what the beach is doing because thats what the fish need to do to eat.
How much effort is related to how serious you want it just like anything else in life the more effort put in the better you should get at it.How much is too much that didn't exist when I started surf fishing probably cost me my first marriage amongst other things I fished every chance I could and heres a tip for you newbies weather you want to hear it or not you can learn more from an old timer in 10 minutes then you can fishing by yourself for a month the key is to listen.
Just a quick example there use to be a guy Leo probably in his 80's sat in his chair and watched and waited for the fish to come into reach for him if it didn't happen oh well but one day I knew the fish were there but just out of reach as I was talking to Leo he said go get the fish I said I can't reach them his reply was take those damn treble hooks off the popper and you will reach them to make a long story short he was right on the money the drag from one treble hook was stopping that little bit of distance I needed.
Experience is the best teacher. Moving around I will not stay in one spot regardless of tide if the fish are not there I will walk and cast along the beach until I find them fishing structure along the way you can feel the humps under your feet as you walk(points) or they just plain aren't there.
Getting skunked thats part of the game get used to it. Sorry so long but if it bores you, your a surfcaster & you already know this.

I don't think you need to apologize for the length of that post, you related a lifetime of experience in there.

You made a lot of the key points that translate from someone catching fish once in a whille to bringing consistency to your catches.

Even the best have their off days. Sometimes the fish just aren't there in any numbers, or a list of variables combines to make it difficult to present. However, they don't give up, and learn from it. Any subtle difference, no matter how small, can make your next trip into a better one if you are willing to adapt and learn from it.



Thanks for the very well-worded response.

[plugaholic]

Surfstix it seems like you been fishing a long time, thanks for sharing.

[voyager35]

For me I do not care how much time or attention I have to give to the sport. I am always willing to learn and watch the guys who have been fishing for years. Any little trick is worth the time to learn about it.

In return I never mind helping out the new guys.

One important thing I do is take the time to make a log. I have always found it helpful for the future predictions.

[killie]

watching tides... nope I got Bob
log books..... Bob
weather .... Bob
winds .... Bob again
water clarity & Temp... once again Bob
how's the bite.... Bob
where's the bite... Bob
what are they biting on... Bob
So how much work do I put in? hold on I gotta call Bob
I'll get back to you

[DarkSkies]

Yesterday the bite was real slow in the PM. Only a few lucky guys got fish. We met up with 2 of them who had been plugging despite the lack of bunker.

They both caught some nice fish, maybe 24, and 32#.
One of the guys had some rusty plugs in his bag. I wanted to help him out a bit, so I went to give him some of what had been working for me at night (he was still plugging long after everyone else had left and decided the bite was over)












On the way to where he was, I ran into a younger surf guy I know. He's been catching a lot of fish lately in the blitzes. That's what he does, and devotes all his free time to it, so he's done well.

However, as a surf guy I thought he would be able to appreciate that there are some bass around at night, if you are willing to work for them....

I showed him what I was using, told him I was getting bass to 22# at night.

His question..."Well how long does it take you to get each bass?"

Me:
"Sometimes up to 2 or 3 hours for one hit. sometimes less. It's a lot of work, but they're around..."

At that point his eyes glassed over, and he lost interest...

It seems there are not too many hardcore nutcases out there like Monty, Surfwalker, me, and a few others. Plugging hours at a time? Get real, dude!!!

Why spend all those pointless hours plugging for a measly 22# fish or 2 if you can get all you want until your arms are tired in a bunker blitz?

[Monty]

While out there this morning with almost the whole beach to myself, was thinking maybe that with an area known to be "hot" a few miles away, maybe a couple guys that would normally be fishing the area I was in were there (good for me). So I was able to walk and cast a good mile of beach, walking by only three other guys fishing (bait). I got one short on a popper (the way Surfwalker likes to catch'em), had a great time, fished water that looked great, can't wait to get out there again. It was worth the effort if I didn't catch a 24 inch bass and was happy I got that one. I fish every chance I get and am just happy to be fishing. Running around looking for bunker seems stressful to me and a waste of "my" time . I want no part of that type of "fishing".
Took a couple pics of the sun rise this morning......in between casts